I'm a new actor this year at Fear Overload located in NorCal in the Bay Area. I work what we call is the SlamBox a very dark closed space and I wait for patrons to walk past. What I do is slam down this piece of wood to reveal an opening and I scream out. A few times I have found it hard to scare some of the patrons, could someone give a bit of advice?

This is also known as a Drop Panel. I find the most effective way is to make it fast. Open quick, scream,, and close it fast. Dont linger trying to get a reaction. Even though some people dont seem to be scared many still are but just good at not showing it.

Keep in mind that even experienced actors have about 50-60% scare/not scare ratio at any given haunt on any given night.

One thing to consider is to not use cliche sayings like "Boo", or "Get out". Come up with some different sayings or comments. One of the most memorable drop panel actors I've ever seen was an actor that popped out and said "How YOU doin'!?!" It had me completely taken aback and I still remember him even though this happened in 2001.